Re: Stealth near miss info on MSNBC


Message posted by Kelly on September 08, 2000 at 02:35:37 EST:

Pilot reports near-miss with ‘stealth’

Air Force says plane was training but questions near collision

NBC NEWS

Sept. 7 — A United Airlines pilot en route from Los Angeles to Boston reported a “near miss” with a stealth fighter Thursday morning, federal aviation officials said. Air Force officials told NBC News the plane appeared to be an F-117 on a training mission from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., but stressed, “We so far have no confirmation that our plane violated anyone’s airspace.”
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION officials told NBC News correspondent Robert Hager that the pilot of the United jet reported an alarm in the cockpit shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport and that the two planes came within about a half-mile of each other.
The pilot descended to avoid colliding with the military jet. Hager reported that the pilot estimated the distance between his aircraft and the fighter as 500 feet vertically and six-tenths of a mile horizontally.
United Airlines Flight 174, a Boeing 757, took off for Boston at 8:38 a.m. PT with 173 people aboard, airline officials said. It landed routinely at 4:30 p.m. ET at Boston’s Logan Airport, where the pilot filed a report with the FAA, Hager reported.
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In that area of California, federal regulations call for separation of 3 to 5 miles between planes, depending upon their precise location, Hager reported, which would mean the incident, if confirmed, would constitute an airspace violation.
Air Force officials told NBC News correspondent Jim Miklaszewski that the jet involved appeared to be an F-117 fighter on a training mission. They said they were investigating the report but had no confirmation from their pilots of a near-miss.
Still, one service official said, “given the cockpit view out of a stealth fighter ... it might be possible for the pilot to fly over another plane without seeing it.”


In Reply to: Stealth near miss info on CNN posted by Gary Sellani on September 08, 2000 at 01:07:40 EST:

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